A Literary Magazine

Issue Thirteen - September 2008

Photographs from Hands at Work

By Summer Moon Scriver

Potter, Nancy Bingham

“Once I had the pot of my dreams. I flipped the kiln on and thought it was on low, but it was on high. It blew up in about two minutes. But that happens. It’s like life. With clay, you have to be into the process.”

“When I think of the jobs many people have, I think of them as oppressive, something that takes us away from things we love and people we love. Spinning, though, is just pure love.”

Sign Language Interpreter, Suzanne Whalen

“Seeing other skilled interpreters inspires me like beautiful poetry or someone with a gorgeous singing voice. It’s a privilege to do this work.”

Vintner, Brent Charnley

“Growing grapes is an ancient human task. Weather ultimately determines the size of the harvest, but the labor of human hands can help nudge this event in the right direction.”

Summer Moon Scriver has been exploring photography as a creative way to frame wordless moments in landscapes of the natural environment as well as “landscapes” of the human body and spirit for over 15 years. Her portrait and landscape photography has been shown in galleries across the Pacific Northwest, and she is a trusted wedding photographer. She lives on Lopez Island with her partner and two sons. For these photographs from Hands at Work—Portraits and Profiles of People Who Work with Their Hands, Summer used a Nikon D200 digital camera to tell visual stories through the richness and simplicity of black-and-white photography. For more information about Hands at Work, visit www.handsworking.com